Axle-setting tool



B, W. DECATUR AXLE SETTING TOOL mea oct. e, 1917 2 sheets-sheet 1 Z'a l2 INVENTOR,

WITNESS.-

` ur Mecal; my.

' ATTORNEY.

April 21, 192s. 1,534,5305

B. W. yIDEQZATUR AXLE SETTING TOOL Filed Oct. 6, 1917 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

BURT W. DECATUR, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

nxnnmsnrlrrne Toon.

Application iled October 6, 1917. Serial No. 195,137.

To AZZ coll/0m t may concern.' p

Be it known that I, Bun'r 17V-Birmanie, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State o'l'`Massaclnisetts7 have invented new and useful Improvements in Axle-Setting Tools, of which the following is a specilicanon.

The object et this invention is to provide means for testing axles otautomobiles to see whether or not they aretrue `and to determine the amount oit bend to be given the axle to straighten it if it is not true.

Another object ot the -invention is to provide means which may be connected with the spindle body of an automobile sothat a com pass may be used to see whether or not the spindle has the proper set.

This invention also consists in` certain other ieatures of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parte, to be hereinafter fully described, il lustrated in the accompanying :drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims. i y

In describing my invention in detail, reference will ."be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention in use.

Figure 2 is a side `view thereof.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4T is a sec-tion on line 4-4 oi`Fig` lure 1.

. Figure 5 is a view of means for gaging the spindle. y

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure l.

Figure 7 is aperspective view olf the U- "shaped supporting member and one of its vise :lor engaging the axle and bending the same. In the figures, l indicates the stationary vise located on the work-bench 2.

rllhis vise consists et the stationary jaw and the movable jaw lwhich is actuated by the handle 5. 6 represents the movable vise which consists of the stationary jaw 7 `and the movable aw S operated by the. handle 9 which is pivoted to the usual screw carried by the jaw and engaging a stationary part or" the vise. The stationary jaw 7 is provided with an extension 1 0 for receiving the movable jaw and the device as a whole `is adapted to slide on a plate-11 located on the bench. The means for moving said -vise consiste oi a screw 12 engaging ahole 13 in the vise and a collar 14 connected with said screw is provided with a lug 15 which is adapted to engage with any one of a series or holes 16 in the plate 17 secured to the bench. By this means the movable vise may `be .adjusted as to its distance from thestatio-nary vise. The extended end of the screw 12 is provided with a hand wheel 18 by which said screw may be rotated to move the vise at right angles to the longitudinal plate 11. litter the axle is placed in position in the rises I lirst test the same to discover the amount of bend to be given thereto to straighten the same and such means con stitutes my invention.

In carrying out my invention I pass a rod 19 through the holes in one of the forked ends of the axle and I center said rod there in by means of a pair of cone members 20` having holes therein through which the rod passes. Thumb screws21 hold the cone mein bers on `the rod. Said rod 19 is provided with punch marks a and a adjacent its ends and one end of this rod carries a scale`19. which is secured to a sleeve 19 which is adjustably mounted on said rod by means of the screw 19a. I provide a right angular pro- `iection 19 on the rod which engages a slot 23` in one of the cones 20, as shown in Fig ure 4. This projection is located an equal` distance from the punch marks a and a and acts as a means for properly positioning the rod in the forked end of the axle so that the punch marks will be an equal distance from that part of the axle which is in'engagement with the. stop or projection 19". wWhen the holes in the axles are of large size and the cones 2O are too small to be supported in the axlesV I may provide grooves 23X in the the measuring bar U-shaped rod 22 which has one limb thereo'lf passing through the holes in this end of the axle and centered therein by the cene members 23 which are similar to those just described. The U-shaped member is provided with an extension 22 which receives one of the cones 23, this cone being provided with a slot 23 through which the cross member of the U-shaped member passes, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 7. Eat the junction of the `free limb o the i-shaped member with the cross piece thereof, is lecated a punch hole This punch mark adapted to be in the same plane with the lowermost surfaces oit the forked ends of the axle as viewed in Fig. 1 and also with the stop 19 when the axle is straight. tree limb of the U-shaped member engages the ripper' side ot the` axle, as shown in Fig-nre 1. The gaging` device consists ot' the upright post 211 which has its pointed end adapted to engage the punch mark and The post carries a bolt 2G which is adapted to be clamped to This the post by the nut 2G and said bolt has a slotted head in which is slidably mounted the bar 25, the bar being held in adjusted position in the head by the screw 26". This arrangement of parts permits the bar 25 to be adjusted longitudinally and it can also be adjusted angular-ly to the post. The pest is provided with a scale 24 which cooperates with the bar 25 to indicate the angular adjustment. The end of the har 25 carries a point 27 which extends at right angles from the bar and a second point 28 vis adjustably secured to the bar by means of the thumb screw 29. These points cooperate with the scale 19 carried by the rod 19.

After the axle isplaced in the vises, the rods 19 and 22 are properly positioned in the forked ends ot the axle by means of the cones, the stop 19 and the bight of the Ufshaped rod 22. The stop 19 and the bight ot the U-shaped rod engaging the axle will act as positioning means for the rods and if the axle is straight the punch .mark b the lowermost surfaces ot the iter/rs of the axle and the stop 19" will be in the same plane. and therefore the punch marks a and a will be equal distances from the punch mark Z). The fact whether or not these distances are equal can be determined by the measuring bar 25 by placing the pointed end of post 24 in punch marl: t) and then adjusting the rod 25 to make its point 27 engage the punch marl; a, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The bar 25 is thenv moved to its full line position and if it engages the punch mark e, the punch marks a and a are the same distances from the punch mark b, thus showing that the rod 19 is parallel with the rod 22 and that the axle is straight. This is shown in Figure 9 wherein the triangular lines Hc-e are of the same dimensions the triangular lines bwa-ffl lit the axle is not straight the stop or projection 19 will not be in the same plane with the said surtaccs oit the 'forks with the mark and the punch marl; a will be closer to or farther from the mark than the mark a is from said mark l. This is shown in Figure 10 where the line -a is longer than the line ZJ-a. The measuring bar and scale 19 will show the dilicrcnce in the length of the two lines. llfhen the axle is being straightened one end oli' the rod 19 will move inwardly while the other is moving` outwardly so that it is only necessary to bend the axle suiliciently to move the rod halt the distance indicated by the scale and in order to determine when a sullicient amount olf bend has been given the axle bar 25 is adjusted on scale 271; to the mark which indicates one halt of the amount that line 7;11; varies 'from line b-a, and which is shown by scale 19. This movement of the rod will move point 27 the proper distance away from or towards marl; to indicate the amount et bend necessary to be :en the axle. Then when the aigle has been bent sufficiently 'to permit the point 2T to engage beth 'the marks a and a the axle will be straight. For instance, it the scale 19 indicated that the line -a was longer by twenty degrees than the line -a the bar 25 world be adjusted on the ale Sat" ten dcg xves, then the axle would be bent until the mark a could be engaged by the point 2'?.

T may use the rod 19 lor testing the truencss ol the spindle ot the liront wheel of an automobile. This may be done by placing` the sleeve carrying the spindle on the rod 19 and centering it by means of the cone n'iembers. Collars 39 are then placed on the rod and located an equal distance from the. center ot' the spindle sleeve. This may be done by placing one point of a compass at the point c at the middle of said sleeve and placing the collars at the intersection oi. the curved line c, made by said compass, with the rod 19. Then by measuring the distance between the collars and the outer end ol. the spindle, as shown by the lines c, the amount ot set7 of the spindle can be determined.

Instead of using the scale zel l may use the Joint This point 28 is set on rod 25 a distance from point 27 that is equal to halll the distance line -a varies from line wa, as shown by scale 19. W'hen the axle is straightened this point 28 will touch both punch marks and thus prove that the axle is straight.

lWhat l claim is 1. t gaging device comprising a rod provided with measuring points, cones for cen- 'tering the rod in the part to be gaged with the said measuring points equidistant from the selected point on the part to be gaged,

` and a measuring bar for gaging the distance between the said points. v

i 2. A gaging` device for automobile axles comprising a pair of rods, means for centering said rods in the spindle bolt holes of an axle, means `for holding each rod in a certain position* relative to the axle, a measuring bar supportedV by one rod and the other rod being provided With measuring pointsl arranged equidistant from the positioning means oi: the rod to be engaged by the said measuring bar.

A gaging device for automobile axles comprising a pair of rods, means for cen tering said rods in the spindle bolt holes o'i an axle, stop meansi'or holding each rod in a certain position relative to the axle, an adjustable measuring bar supported by one rod and means on the other rod, arranged equidistant from the positioning .means on said rod for providing measuring points for the said bar. i i

l-. A gaging device for automobile axles comprising a pair of rods, cones for centering said rods in the spindle bolt holes of an axle, stop means for holding each rody in a certain position relative to the axle, a measuring bar supported by one rod, measuring points on the other rod, arranged equidistant from the stop means on said rod for providing measuring points for the measuring bar and a scale arranged on the frod adjacent one of the measuringpoints.

5 A gaging device for automobile axles comprising al pairof rods, cones for centering said rods in the spindle bolt holes of the axle, a stop on each rod for holding `the same in a certain position relative to 'the axle, a measuring bar supported by one rod, and being adjustable in the arc of a circle, a scale for indicating the amount of this adjustment, the other rod having measuring points thereon, arranged equidistant from the stop on said rod, for providing measuring points for the measuring bar and a scale on said rod adjacent one of said points.

6. A gaging device for automobile axles comprising a straight rod and a U-sliaped rod, cones on said rods for centering them in the spindle bolt holes of the axle, a stop on the straight rodfor engaging the axle, the cross/piece of the U-shaped rod acting as a stop for this rod, the said U-shaped rod having a punch mark b thereon which is adapted to be in the same plane with the lonfermost surfaces of theforked ends of the axle and also with the stops of the said straight and U shaped rods ivhenthe axle `is straight, the straight rod having a pair of punch `marks thereon, arranged equidistant from the stop thereon, a post having a pointed end for engagement With the punch mark b, a measuring bar pivotally connectedwith the post, a scale on the post for indicating the amount of movement of the bar, said bar being mounted for adjustment in the arc of a circle, a point on the bar for engaging the punch marks on the straight rod and a scale on said straight rod located adjacent one of the punch marks.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

` BURT lV. DECATUR. 

